Friday, November 27, 2015

Like last year, the whole family (minus Michael) gathered at Rob's Restaurant in Brookville for our Thanksgiving dinner. Mom's to the point - and she's been there for some years - of not wanting to cook for a large group. I agree completely. And neither of us are much enamored by doing the dishes, either.

So about three weeks ago I called for reservations. It turns out that they only had one opening at 10:30 am for a group of five. That's a bit early to eat but I took the slot.

Tom arrived at Pinehaven at about 9 am. Bob and Nancy decided to just meet us at Rob's. Mom, Tom and I left here about 9:50 am for Brookville. When we got there, the doors were still locked and a large group of people had massed outside the door. But when we got in, things went quickly. We were eating by our assigned time.

Mom's already eaten a large plateful

Here she's eating a couple of stuffed mushrooms

Tom heaped it on and he's happily shoveling

I've already had a large plateful and am munching on a second dinner roll

Waiting for a second wind so I can go and get dessert

Nancy and Bob come up for air

Bob took this shot - didn't realize it

I'm messing with my smartphone (of course); Tom's digesting

This is how the reservations are handled

We had 1.5 hours to eat ... ample time

Then, home for a game of cards ... Michigan Rummy.

If Bob looks a little shifty-eyed ... it's because he is

Nancy and Bob shared the leading positions for the entire game

While Tom held the bottom ... firmly

Mom just holds in there

Another shot taken by Bob

(probably trying to divert our attention so he can cheat)

And a shot of me courtesy of Tom

A great time for all. After Bob and Nancy left, Tom and I played three more games of Michigan Rummy. Should I admit he won all three? I imagine Bob gave him some pointers before he left.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Yesterday Mom said she was going to order a fruit cake by mail. I'm never in favor of going that route. Why pay exorbitant prices and then pay for shipping, too (if a fruit cake is made right, it weighs a ton). "Let's just make one instead," I told her.

This morning when I got up, Mom had already collected the ingredients and had them standing on the kitchen counter. "You said you didn't mind making one," she said. "Do it."

Just out of the oven

Mom has always had a favorite recipe and she calls this "the fruit cake with Karo syrup". She found the recipe and I'll post it here. Sorry that it's taped and beat up a bit. But you know fruit cakes ... anything goes. We have no idea of the source of the recipe other than it's quite old and it was clipped out of a magazine.

Nevertheless, here's the original recipe:

Click on the recipe for a higher resolution version

Here's the batter with the citron poured in, ready for stirring

Mom's finely chopping some fresh orange zest to add to the batter

Here is the batter in the loaf pan, ready for the oven

I don't much follow directions. All the dry ingredients are best mixed first and then the liquids added. We whipped the eggs in a measuring cup before adding. Otherwise, just pile it in.
We added a commercial citron ("fruit cake mix") and threw in some raisins and black walnuts.

Two hours baking time is plenty for us

We'll add some wine to the surface if we want the fruitcake more moist. Or, we may just leave it alone. When it cools, a taste will tell all.

Yesterday (11/21) Tom and I drove up to Wapakoneta and toured the Armstrong Air & Space Museum. It's something I've wanted to do since the museum opened in 1972 (three years to the day after the first moon landing). When our family made their twice-a-year trips to Bear Lake, Michigan for vacation, we'd pass the museum. Some day, I thought.

It was a dark, dismal Saturday but the traffic was light and we didn't encounter any construction on I-75 as we traveled. On the trip home, it had begun to rain but the predicted snow didn't occur until later in the day.

Armstrong Air & Space Museum

Apollo Command Module (Mock-up)

Gemini Spacecraft (Mock-up)

Entrance Area to the museum

Neil Armstrong's First Flight

Items from Armstrong's childhood

Full-scale mock-up of Sputnik 1

My family visited my Uncle Joe and Aunt Sally Huesman one evening in October 1957 and we stood atop the river levee in Miamisburg and watched Sputnik fly overhead. I remember it being quite dim and hard to see among the stars. It is actually a small object and it orbited at an altitude of 359 miles so it was no wonder that it didn't present much of a visual target. Even so, we knew nothing would ever again be the same.

Tom would have been too tall for the original astronauts

Painting of Ohio astronaut John Glenn

Gemini VIII (the real thing, not a mock-up)

I remember when Neil Armstrong and David Scott flew this first docking mission in March 1966. While the docking with the Agena was accomplished, a thruster stuck and the mission had to be aborted. Armstrong proved his cool head was always in control. Read more about this mission here.

Close-up view of the interior of Gemini VIII

Armstrong sat in the seat closest to me (bottom)

One of Armstrong's space suits

Me in front of Gemini VIII

Apollo command module model (top) and various gear

Close-up of Apollo keyboard

"The astronauts used a keyboard like this one to transfer data to and from

the command module's onboard computer" - AASM

NASA actually called this a DSKY: Display and Keyboard Assembly. I can still remember the terminology from nearly 50 years ago.

Apollo 8's view of the earth and moon - first lunar orbit mission

A Saturn V engine

(certainly not a main engine; perhaps upper stage?)

I believe this is the plane Armstrong learned to fly in (hung from the ceiling)

Food used in the Apollo program

Personal hygiene articles used on Apollo

Coverall worn by Eugene Cernan (Apollo 17)

American flag carried to the moon aboard Apollo 11

Painting of Neil Armstrong's first step onto the moon

Bust of Neil Armstrong

Wapakoneta Daily News headline

Jim Lovell's coverall

Awards issued to Neil Armstrong

Armstrong's Back-up Space Suit for Apollo 11

Close-up of Armstrong's name on the suit

Moon rock brought back on Apollo 11

This is the "starry" view as you approach the central dome

Official Apollo 11 seal in wood

Among the well-wishes from around the world is this drawing from France

An oil painting of Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon

A painting of Aldrin backing down the LEM ladder. Armstrong is already on the surface.

(I'm there, too, via a reflection in the glass)

Kids enjoyed this Lunar Landing Simulator

A final look at a late-life Neil Armstrong

I talked with a worker at the museum for a few minutes, explaining that I attended Armstrong's homecoming on September 6, 1969. I remember hearing him, Bob Hope and Ohio governor James Rhodes speak at the fairgrounds. About 50,000 attended the event. The museum worker said she'd only been in Wapakoneta for eight years.